Werecats
by She-Wolfe
Summary: This story has nothing to do with Maximum Ride.Sorry.I have a different Maximum Ride story.But this one is about a girl who becomes a werecat and joins a Pride of werecats. Her and her friend Liam get captured and taken to this labretory with scientis.
1. Chapter 1

**Hi,this is my second fanfict and im realy excited about this one! Iv been playing it over in my head for soo o so long. Everything here is mine. Its got nothing to do with Maximum Ride,sorry. But my other story is about maximum ride! why dont u take a look at it? you might like it!  
**  
I gulp down lungfuls of air. My brain is on hyper drive ; I'm running for my life. My one goal is to escape. Nothing else matters. My arms being scratched to ribbons by branches that I'm running through? No biggie. My bare feet hitting every sharp rock, rough root, pointed stick? Not a problem. My lungs aching for air? I could deal.

But the Hunters? Oh no, not one bit of courage I had left after I first saw them. Right now they were after me. _'Shift. If you shift, you could either outrun them, or rip their butts to shreds'_, a little voice I like to call my thoughts, directed in my head.

But I can't shift, because they will see me. They aren't shooting at me with their guns because its only a theory in their heads. They are trying to catch me so that they CAN prove that I'm one, then kill me. Not fun.

Totally fair. Right? **Wrong!**It's so unfair. I'm only 15 for freaking crying out loud. Not the normal age for a girl to be running from pursuers. I should be at home,brushing my teeth,getting ready for bed. This is the total oppisite.

My arms pump by my sides, my feet crashing through underbrush, my eyes scanning anxiously through the light that's escaping the canopy of trees. I could outrun them. I could find a spot hidden enough for me to-

Oh no. Oh no. The unearthly baying of bloodhounds on the scent wailed through the trees, and I feel sick. I could outrun the hunters, but I can't outrun dogs.

_'Dogs, dogs, go away, let me live another day '_, I sing in my head. They are getting closer. Dim light filters in through the woods in front of me. A nearby town? A town could save me. I could hide in a random house or lose the Hunters in a mass of people. I burst through the trees, chest heaving, a thin sheen of cold sweat on my skin.

_'Yes!'_, I think. but I'm dead wrong. I ran strait into a farmer's field full of pumpkins. There is not place to hide. No hiding spot could mean my death. In back of me are woods filled with drooling bloodhounds and psyco Hunters. Both options suck.

The dogs are yelping excitedly-they've found their prey: me.

I take one look behind me, at the savage hounds, the shiny guns, and sprint into the field. The Hunters let the dogs loose,taking off their leashes. They race after me,I imagine smirks on their faces. I squish several pumpkins in my wake, making me feel guilty.

Dare I look. The dogs are a dozen feet behind me. I stumble over a pumpkin vine and fall to my knees. The slavering canines attack me,clawing at my skin. I cry out in pain. These dogs were absolutly not the type that layed in front of a fire,on a rug,and listened to their owner's rockingchair squeak. No,these were vicious mutts. Bred for nothing but to kill. The ironic thing though,is that my grandmother used to own a type of dog like this. Whatever,back to the crisis.

I make a 1 second decision: I shift into my snow leopard form. Yes, that's right. I'm a werecat. This is why the Hunters are after me. I could scare, hurt,or kill anyone i encounter. But I don't! Im not like that.

Werecats are the opposites of werewolves. They change while the moon if full,and we change while its empty. Werewolves can be any type of canine. Wolf, chihuahua, coyote, hyena, fox, etc. Same with werecats. We could be any feline. And the Hunters want every werecat to be destroyed.

I hiss at the dogs and they back away but don't leave. The Hunters emerge from the woods and one of them blows a whistle. The dogs go to him and roll on the ground at his feet like puppies. _Pathetic_.

The Hunter walks over to me, a boy around my age follows. He is about to say something but the older Hunter interupts him. "No Christophr. Go back to your older sister and the rest. This one isn't yours ",he says and shoves the kid toward the other Hunters.

The Hunter in front of me aims his rifle at me. Then, all of a sudden, a loud roar interupted the Hunter. A huge lion comes out of nowhere and tackles the Hunter to the ground. This was the lion that found me and told me what i was. He had offered me a place in his Pride but I had refused. I dont want to be a werecat. I think of werecats as _them_ an not _us_. I don't like what I am. I'm just waiting to find an anidote. A benchwarmer.

The Hunter gets up and scrambles for his gun. Gwendor knocks it out of reach. "Back off, Hunter ",he says in a gruff voice." Follow me ",he tells me. We start running away from the hunters and dogs. But two of the Hunters have a laser pointed on the lion and me. He doesn't see it, but I do. "The guns! ",I yell in fear. I bump into th lion, but one of the Hunters pulls the trigger before he can even react.

**hanks for reading! please review :p**


	2. Chapter 2

"No! ", I scream, as I watch Gwendor fall to the ground, dead. I stumble to the ground next to him, sobbing into his golden fur. This is my fault. If I hadn't gone to the Hunters' little council meeting group thingy, this lion would still be alive. I just wanted to try and be brave and find out what they were doing. But they had spotted me within seconds. I have the characteristics of a cat. Sharper canine teeth, eyes that look like a cat's, the way I walk with such ease, and my voice.  
CRACK  
I twirled around quickly and found myself looking into the eyes of the Hunter that killed Gwendor. I glare at him. "I'll get you for what you did. You'll be sorry. Stay out of the night "I hiss, trying to sound threatening, and sprint away before he even gets a chance to grab his gun.  
I run until i reach a town, and I keep running. I seem to lose the feeling in my legs, but I don't stop. I know that if I do, even for just a second, I'll be dead. I can hear a truck behind me, and I wonder why they don't shoot. It's close behind. I know that if I keep going like this I won't ever have a chance to escape.  
So I stop, mid stride, and turn around. I glace at the truck that was pursuing me and realize that it isn't one of the hunters' trucks. It was just some old man driving down the street. I can't believe how stupid I'm feeling. How long had i run until they gave up? Half way ? Or did they even try to catch me? I sigh and lay on the ground, too exhausted to shift back into my human form.

"Need some water? "a guy asks from behind. I growl, expecting a fight. "Now is that a way to treat a fellow werecat? ", the person says sarcastically. I turn to look at the guy but instead my eyes find a spotted leopard.

"Have you been following me? For how long? ", I ask suspiciously.  
The leopard shrugs and says,"Long enough to see my leader get killed by the Hunters".

I look at the ground guiltily. "I'm sorry. I tried to tell him but he couldn't hear me! The dogs were barking and we were running ",I apologize.

I look up at the leopard, realizing how much bigger he is than me. It doesn't make sense. We are both leopards. I'm just a snow and he is a spotted. This would defiantly be a fight I wouldn't win.

"What's your name? "the leopard asks. "St-Star ", I stutter."Is that short for Starlet?" he asks. I nod my head. " Pretty name. I'm Liam ", he says."I used to have a pet hamster named Liam ", I mutter. He laughs.

We just look at each other for a long time. I admire his fur. Its a beautiful shade of gold.

"So do you want some water? " he asks again. "Yes, please ",i almost beg.

Liam shifts into human form and hands me a water bottle. I shift back into human form and take the bottle. I start gulping down the cool liquid. While I do so, my gaze falls on Liam. I have to admit, he is quite good looking. He looks around 15 or 16. His hair is a milk chocolate color, his eyes are a gorgeous brown, and his skin is a dark tan. I wonder if he is from Egypt; I once had a friend from Egypt and she had all the same features. I notice he has no shirt on, adding onto his hotness. My eyes pour over his well defined abs. I can't believe this boy is even talking to me.

I choke on air, seeing that im out of water. I stand up and brush the dirt and leave off my legs.

"I think you should come with me for a while", Liam says. "Why? ", I ask. "Because are still some Hunters snooping around here and Pride will want to know what happened to Gwendor ", he explains.

"No! No, no, no, no, no. Please? They will kill me! One of them already tried, but I got away. They scratched me! Do you want to see the scar? "I ask. I pull up my shirt so that he can see the 7 inch scar across my left side. He gasps and backs away.

"Who did this? What did they look like? ", he asks urgently."What? Oh, ah... Hmm ... it was a tiger. A really big tiger. And it talked in a female voice ", I explain.

"What did she say?" I wonder why he is freaking out so much.  
So what? Another werecat doesn't like me and tried to potentially kill me. Maybe she thought i was in her territory. I watch Animal Planet, I'm not clueless.

"She asked me who i was, how long i had been a werecat, and who had changed me into a werecat ",I say. "And you said...?", Liam asks. "I said that my name is Star, I had been a wercat for two and a half weeks, and that i didnt know what changed me. I remember the night i was camping with my mom and my friend Clove. We were attacked by something and it had bit me. I didn't tell either of them about the bite because i didn't wana cause problems. My mother and Clove never saw what had did it", I say.

"How long ago was this?" Liam asks. "Four days ago", I answer. So you have been a werecat for about three weeks? You really need to come with me", he says. " But why?" I ask miserably.

"Because she is probably going to try to kill you again", he say plainly.

**Thank you for reading! This story is totaly my own. All the characters,all the places,EVERYTHING i typed came from my overactive imagination! Please review!**


	3. Chapter 3

The engine purrs as Liam starts the car. He is taking me to meet his Pride. I cant believe I'm doing this. I'm scared to death of werecats. Even though I am one. But I'm not like them. I DONT wish to be like this. I just really want my old life back. I hadn't known that I was a werecat until Gwendor had found me. He said that he knew I was one because of my appearances. I have to wear colored contacts now, because my eyes look like a cat's. And i also have to stop putting my hair behind my ears or in a ponytail because my ears are pointed. My canine teeth sharpen themselves to a point. There's not much I can do about that, my voice, or the way i walk. Total unfairness.

"Why don't you like being a werecat? ",Liam asks suddenly. I look out the car window. Its getting dark now.

"Star?", he asks again. "They are vicious. Not natural. They could kill someone! Wercats are unsafe to every human", I say quickly.

"You mean 'we'. 'We' could kill someone", he corrects gently. I feel a growl coming from my throat.

"No i mean you! You could kill people! I'm not like you. I don't want to be like this. I hate having to squint my eyes when I see a bright light, I hate having to cover my ears and hum to myself when something is too loud, I hate accidentally biting my lip while eating. I HATE IT ALL! ",I scream, making Liam swerve the car.

"Hey ,I have sensitive hearing too. Quiet down", he complains. I cant beleive myself, but I actually smile. Why am I smiling? I just practically poured all my thoughts and feelings about werecats out. "What's so funny?", Liam asks. "I wish I knew", I say slyly.

He looks at me with a look in his eyes. What is that? Amusement? Interest? I have no idea. A sudden bump makes me look outside. Liam is driving us into the forest.

"We're gonna have to walk from here. Cant have any tire tracks leading to us. I have to warn you, though. We have allot of members, and they are all going to be there. I don't want you to be freaked", he says while getting out of the car. He shifts into his leopard form and starts running deeper into the forest.

"Hey! Wait up. I don't know my way there!", I yell after him. He slows down. I jump out of the car, shift, and run to his side. "Slow poke", he snickers. "I'm NOT slow. You got a head start", I accuse. "Oh really? You think you could race me?", Liam asks. I nod my head excitedly. "Okay. On three. One, two, _three_!" he yells and takes off.

I start running full speed, for the second time today. My legs practically throwing me five feet with every step. Liam is running a little bit ahead of me. He is pretty fast. But he has the advantage of knowing which ways to go while i have to follow him.

I start hearing talking, laughter, and scuffling of feet. Liam starts speeding up. Or am I slowing down? I push my legs harder and come up to Liam's side. I cast a scared glance at him. "Don't worry. The only danger you are in is of losing this race!", he says. I grin, feeling the energy left in me. I use that leftover energy and sprint toward the source of the talking. I'm in front of Liam. I think i will win. Until Liam runs about ten feet in front of me. Then we both run strait into a clearing.

I stop suddenly, seeing all of the big cats around me. I quickly count them all; 14 eyes are staring at me aggressively. I see one ocelot, two lions, one jaguar, one caracal, two small cheetahs, one jaguarundi, one lynx, one black leopard, one snow leopard (like me),two mountain lions, and one serval. Many of the cats are standing on rocks making a cave. Others are sitting in the trees. I swivel my head around, taking in the scene, eyes wide. I stare at them, and they stare at me. Growls and hisses are thrown at me, making me flinch. I shrink to the ground in a submission posture.

Two of the cats start walking to me. A male lion and a female mountain lion. They approach cautiously, as if they expect me to attack. But i just hiss at them. Anger erupts in their eyes. They look like they are about to pounce but before they can, Liam jumps in between us.

"Why is this snow leopard here?", the male lion asks. "I found her. She was being chased by Hunters. Gwendor had met her before. Remember when he was telling us about a female werecat he had found a few days ago? Well this is the girl. Her name is Star", Liam explains. I cant believe how quickly he jumped between me and them.

"Ahh. This is the girl? The girl that Gwendor talked to us about? I don't see anything special about her", the female mountain lion says harshly.

"Shut up, Opal", Liam growls. I look around at the other cats. They seem to be absorbing the whole conversation.

"Shift back into your human form", the male lion orders. "She doesn't have to, Vrent", Liam tells him. Vrent ignores him and again says," Shift back". I do as he says, and immediately regret it. I feel vulnerable, exposed, and helpless as a human. "Ooo a pretty, wavy haired blond. Let me guess, crystal blue eyes?", Opal says sarcastically.

"No, their gray", I say boldly. I surprise myself with braveness. "Quiet", rent commands Opal. "This is a werecat you are talking to, show some respect to your kind", Vrent says. It feels nice to have someone else defending me. "So what? We are ALL werecats. This one is no different", Opal again calls out. Why does this mountain lion hate me?

"Well maybe because Gwendor took a shine to her", Liam jumps in the conversation. "Hold your tongue, Liam! This is none of your concern. Especially to a lone scout", Opal scolds. "Actually, Opal, it has a lot to do with me. I found Star, I brought her here, and i seem to be the only one she is not afraid of!", he yells.

Some of the felines are starting to come down from the trees and rocks, making me paranoid. "Why are you making this such a fight?", Vrent asks. "You did the same thing with the last werecat that joined!",a female voiced serval says to Opal. Many of the werecats nod their heads. "Vrent,i need to tell you something important. As our trusted lutenant and friend, i must inform you that Gwendor has been killed. While Star was being perused by the Hunters, Gwendor tried to help her and was shot while doing so", Liam announces sadly.

The way he spoke sounded like he was reading a script written by Mozart. Liam shifts into his human form. Shock has crossed every werecat's face. They all shift into their human forms. Most of them were in their teens and twenties. But both of the cheetahs looked like ten year olds, and a couple of others looked to be in their forties or fifties.

"What? Gwendor is dead? How? Why didn't you help him!", the female lion asks furiously. "I couldn't. He-Gwendor was dead and loaded onto the Hunters' truck before i could do anything. I didn't- there was no other option, Misty!", Liam stutters. I could tell he feared this lioness. "So you saved this girl before any more blood could be shed. Very wise, Liam. Gwendor's death will be mourned", Misty says.

"Who is going to be our leader now, though?", an ocelot asks. "The lutenant. Vrent will be the new leader", Misty says. "Thank you. Id be glad to take the place as leader. We will hold a ceremony in honor of Gwendor. For the many years he was our leader", Vrent says.

These people are talking like they are from the 1400's. Before, Liam was speaking like a regular teen. I don't get them at all. "Could i show Star around? And let her meet the rest of the Pride?", Liam asks. "I think that is a great idea. Let her get to know the place. And maybe...she could be your partner for scouting? You cant keep scouting on your own. What if you are ambushed by Hunters or werewolves? You would need backup and no one would be there to help you. I think Star would be an excellent partner", Vrent suggests.

"But I don't need a partner. I'm just fine how I am", Liam says. "No, no, no . You need a partner. And everyone else has a partner. Star doesn't. And as a new member of our Pride, she needs one. Or if anyone wants to change partners, you can", rent says. "Fine", Liam sighs, "C'mon, Star let me show you around". He shifts and starts walking toward the cave entrance.  
"This is our cave. We hold all of our meetings here. And this is where we all mostly stay".

"Whoa, wait. You all LIVE here? Why don't you go home?", I ask. "Well our families notice that we are different. They just don't know what it is. Some think we have a sickness, that we are losing our minds, drugs, or some other crazy theories. But none are as crazy as the truth. They notice our eyes, ears, teeth, voice, and walk. We have to hide our features. That's why we stay here. We don't like staying with a suspicious family. Our parents going through our stuff, littler sibling asking curious questions, older siblings making fun of us. Its not a life to live. Here, we don't have to hide anything. We just have to watch out for the younger werecats. If you haven't noticed, most of us are in our teens and twenties. That's because we don't let werecats under the age of 12 join. Too much danger comes here. Its better if the youngsters don't know what they are until they are old enough to understand. And the older some of us get, the less involved we want to be. Around 30 everyone usually leaves to start a family or just escape the dangers of this life. They stop helping us protect the werecats under 12. Some stay because they care for all of us enough to stay and watch over us, like Gwendor", Liam explains.

"Oh", I say stupidly. "Are you angry that you have to partner up with me? Cause if you are, then ill just ask that lion-I mean Vrent- if I could do that scouting thing alone. I get it. I know I can be annoying and strange and frightened too easily and"-

"Star! Stop babbling. I don't mind partnering up with you. But i DO mind you rambling on about nonsense ",Liam complains. I let out a sigh of relief. I focus my attention to the cave again. Moss, ivy, and vines create a make-shift curtain for the cave. Inside the cave, there is small, baseball-sized holes in the ceiling, letting in light.

"Did you do this? Or is it natural?", I ask Liam. He looks at the curtain of plants ,shrugs ,and says ,"It was here before i came. Its probably natural".

I curious though sprouted in my mind. I knew next to nothing about this boy that has so much in common with me. "When did you come to the Pride?", I ask. Liam looks into the darkness of the cave. "Last year, around September", he answers shortly. Right now its April, he couldn't possibly onlybeen here for eight months, could he? The werecats gave him so much respect, and he didn't look the least frightened by them. Liam started taking me to the other werecats.

My ears went flat against my head and the fur on my back raised. "What are you doing?", asked a snow leopard. I was shocked by our similarities in appearance. "Uh...",I say dumbly.

I point my ears forward and let my fur settle back. "She's just scared. Precious attacked her a while ago. Left a bad scar. She tried to kill her. I'd be petrified too, if a tiger jumped me", Liam says.

The snow leopard looks shocked. "I'm Noah", the he says to me. "I'm Star", I say evenly.

I take in his features. Now that i look closer at him, his spots are in different places, he is much bigger than me, and his eyes are blue, not gray. "Liam!", I hear someone say. I glance at Liam.

Two cheetahs tackle him to the ground. They were small. So much smaller than i expected a cheetah to be. They are all laughing and wrestling on the ground with each other. "Hey Zack. Hey Zoë", Liam says to them. He gets up off the ground and shakes his fur clean of dirt and leaves. "Star, these two are Zack and Zoë. They are twins", Liam says, "This is Star".

"Hi, Star! ",Zack says. "Hi Star! You have a pretty name. And your form is even prettier!", Zoë comments enthusiastically. "Um...",I have no idea what she means. "She is talking about your snow leopard form", Liam translates. "Ahh. Well thank you", I say to Zoë.

Liam takes me to meet the other werecats. I'm playing over theirs names and forms and ages in my head.  
'Liam,leopard,16 years old; Vrent,lion,28 years old; Misty,lion,25 years old; Zoe,cheetah,10 years old; Zack,cheetah,10 years old; Noah, snow leopard,19 years old; Oliver,jaguar,16 years old; Opal, mountain lion,33 years old; Aaron, mountain lion,17 years old; Ben,caracal,30 years old; Bryan,lynx,13 years old; Dakota, black panther,18 years old; Alex,jaguarundi,15 years old; Raven,serval,15 years old; and Kelly,ocelot,16 years old. Including me, there is 16 werecats in all.

"Has your parents noticed anything about you?", Liam asks. He had been showing me around the forest. The trail here, the stream there..."No, as soon as Gwendor told me what I was and the effects of it, I bought colored contacts and I try not to show my teeth when I smile", I say. He nods his head in understanding.

My eyes widen when I realize how late it must be. "Oh, my god. What time is it?" I ask.

"Like 3 AM. Why?", Liam asks. "Because my mom will be wondering where i am!" I yell and start jogging the way I guess Liam's car is.

"Oh yeah. I hate that. When your not tired at night" Liam says. "Please, can you just take me to your car?", I beg him.

"Yeah, its not that big a deal. If your mom realized you were missing, she would of called", he says logically. I stop in my tracks. My mom probably thought I was at a friend's house.

"Liam, your brilliant! Ill just tell her that I'm staying at Clove's tonight", I say happily. I grab my phone and start calling my mom. "Starlet, where are you?", my mom asks.

"I'm, uh, at Clove's. She called me earlier and it was sort of like a last minute slumber party invite".  
"How'd you get there?".

I try thinking of a lie. But I am all out. None of my friends can drive yet. "Say that one of your friend's siblings took you", Liam whispers.

"Is that a boy i hear?", my mom asks suspiciously.

"What? No. That's um...just the T.V. ", I knew Cloves dad is at work right now.

"Okay honey, have fun. Bye".

"Bye", I say finally. I can't believe she didn't ask about the time.


	4. Chapter 4

"Your hopeless", Liam teases. "Where am i going to sleep tonight?", I ask. I'm defiantly not going to sleep on that cold, hard cave floor. "We have beds made of moss and other soft stuff in the cave, they are at the back of it so that no mildew gets on them. You'll have to make your own though", he says.

"Joy", I say sarcastically. Suddenly i hear a loud howl. "What was that?" I ask fearfully. "We have to get going. NOW", he orders.  
We run back to the cave quickly. None of the others are in sight. "Where are they?" I ask. Listen to me, I'm full of questions tonight. "In the cave. They're frightened. Hurry, get inside", he says, pushing me forward.

I walk into the cave; it smells strongly of cat fur. Someone allergic would have a heart attack in here. "Follow me", Liam says.  
Further back, I start hearing whispers and breathing. Then they come into view. Some are in cat form, some are in human form.

"Okay we're at my bed, or nest as you would call it by it's looks. You stay here while i go ask Vrent if we have any extras", Liam says and walks over to the lion. I watch them talking for a minute. Could it really take that long just to ask for a borrowed nest? I cant believe myself. I'm about to sleep in a freaking CAVE with a bunch of cat characterized strangers. If you looked up the word 'loon' in the dictionary, I'd be one of the examples. I plop myself down in Liam's little nest thingy. He wasn't kidding, it really was soft.

I close my eyes and only focus on sounds. Letting my ears tell me about the world around me. Zoë wrestling with Zack in cheetah form...the steady drip, drip, drip of water from the ceiling...the wind blowing the grass outside the cave. This is one of the plusses at being a werecat. This is why I haven't killed myself yet. That, and i would never leave my mom without someone. If there is an afterlife, id ask god to put me in hell. As my own punishment.

"Vrent says you can have Gwendor's nest", Liam says. He has the nest in tow behind him, a trail of moss in it's wake. I hesitate before taking it. "Where do I put it?", I ask him. "I don't know. Next to mine I guess", he whispers quietly. "Okay". I set the nest on the ground barley touching Liam's nest. "Night, Star ",he says, sleep thick in his voice. But i fall asleep before I can answer.

"Rise and shine!", Vrent yells, his voice echoing through out the cave. I squirm in my nest. Something is tickling my nose. With my eyes closed, I swat it away. It tickles my again. Who ever is tickling me is going to pay. My eyes fly open, but I squint in the harsh light. I notice how detailed everything looks. Wait, I shifted! While I was asleep. How strange. _Ha ha. It was just my tail tickling my nose_, I think. **BAM!** Something furry and warm fell on me. I panic for a second, but calm back down when I see it was the twins, Zack and Zoë.

"Oh my gosh. Sorry!", Zoë apologizes and bounds a couple feet away. Do I scare her? "You pushed me on her! ",Zack accuses. "No. You pushed me", Zoë says with a hurt face. "Tag! Your it!" Zack says, running away. "Whoa! ",Dakota says, jumping out of their way.

"They never like changing into their human forms", Liam's silky voice says. "Oh my god, Liam! Stop sneaking up on me", I say. I roll over to look at him. He actually has a shirt on. _HALLELUJAH!_ "We have to go scouting in an hour", he says, yawning loudly.  
"What? Wait I have to go home and get cleaned up. I probably have leaves in my hair", I say, reality hitting me smack in the face.  
"I see no leaves", Liam says.

"No I mean my hair. Not my fur", I correct.

"Well you don't have to shift back just yet. We usually just stay in cat form until we need to go out in public".

"Grrrr. I'm going to regret this", I mutter.

"Well...um...we are going to be scouting for the rest of the day. And night".

"But that's so long!", I complain.

"Do you have any idea what time it is? Its 2 in the freaking afternoon! We are naturally supposed to sleep during the whole day. And hunt and be active at night".

"But...what do we do while scouting again?". My day is going to be miserable. ALL day and ALL night? Its amazing I slept until 2in the afternoon.

"We are patrolling the place for Hunters or werewolves. Some are doing the same, and some are watching out for the young werecats. The Hunters sometimes go after them too".

"Fun". Fun? Did i really just say fun? I amaze myself sometimes. "I guess ill stay here. But i AM getting a bath. Do you know where the cleanest stream is?", I ask, feeling stupid. Only homeless people bathe in streams. Then again, everyone here is homeless. But not me. I wont leave my mom.

"I was going to suggest a bath anyways. Did you run through mud yesterday?", he asks.

"Maybe...sorry, I wasn't paying attention to anything but staying alive. I have SO many scratches, scrapes, and bruises".

"Well they wont be there anymore. Have you not noticed that we heal really fast. Its not even normal for cats. Gwendor had a theory that something else is in our blood. He just didn't know what exactly".

I shrug my shoulders, feeling of no use to these people. I had brought their beloved leader to his death. I'm not saying anything but if I were them, id break my face. It makes me wonder if they would do the same. They defiantly aren't peace loving, I'll assure you.

"This way is a pretty clear 'n clean stream", Liam guides me to a really deep and wide stream. Fish swimming in the crystal clear water, smooth, gray pebbles resting at the bottom, the soothing burble of flowing water. The whole scene made me want to go wash my filth in a not-so-perfect stream. I crouch down and lap up some water with my tongue, finding that its cold. House cats make it seem so easy, but I keep dripping water down my chin and flicking some on my cheeks. I sneeze when some water crawls in my nose. That's H2O for ya. Always trying to make a clean get-a-way to the beautiful resort call your nostrils. I put a forepaw in the water slowly. Then my next paw. I shiver. The water is freezing. I start backing out of the water, about to beg to go to my house when Liam pushes me in.

I splash into the water, headfirst, slipping on the slick rocks. I try to swim but its hard, I worry i might drown. Did Liam think of THAT when he shoved me in, huh? That i could possibly not know how to swim in kitty cat form? "Liam! How do you swim?", I ask.

"Quit panicking. Just spread your paws out and dog paddle. Our fingers and toes are webbed".

I do as he says and...and it works. Why must he know everything? Oh wait! I just know nothing. Makes perrrfect sense. The irony of it all. I jump out of the water and shake my fur. "Your not done yet. Still some mud on your legs and on your face", Liam says. He tackles me into the water and I accidentally kick him in the gut.

"Oww ",he moans.

"Sorry!" I apologize. He tries to dunk me under water but I swim away, splashing water. He gets out of the stream and jumps in right next to me, making a huge wave. "Do you feel like we're in 'Lion King' right now too? Cause Im afraid that all of a sudden we are going to be ambushed by hyenas", I joke. "Yeah. I don't see any cameras though", he says falsely sad. "Do you see that? Liam is actually smiling", I hear someone say behind us. Liam must hear them too because he turns around and sees two girls around our age. I remember their names: Kelly and Raven.

"Hey gals", Liam says casually.

"Hi Liam. Hi Star. What ya up to?", Kelly asks.

"Swimming. Where you two following us?" he asks them. Before they can answer he whispers to me," We got some stalkers", loud enough for the two to hear.

"No! We're just going on a walk. Going to catch a rabbit or squirrel. Might get a deer if we're feeling generous", Raven says.

"Cool. I was just joking", Liam says.

"Sure you were. Bye-bye now", they say in sync.

"Bye", we say. "Why did Raven say 'look he is actually smiling'?", I ask.

"Let's just say I haven't always been the happiest camper. My parents died in a car crash not too long ago. Now it's just me. Child Care wanted to take me in but I made an excuse that i had a friend to stay with. Which, now that i think about it, is partially true". A sudden burst of guilt blooms inside me. Last night i had talked about my mother in front of him. It makes me wonder what he was thinking at the time.

We finish washing our fur. Liam is trying to teach me how to clean my pelt without taking a bath. "You can clean yourself like any other cat. I didn't suggest it before cause mud doesn't taste good. You wouldn't want to do it. But now that your clean, it wont be gross. I usually just clean my fur right when I wake up from sleep or when im bored. You might feel differently", he explains.

"This is boreinggg ",I whine. Liam himself looks about fed up with me. "Well if you listened and stopped playing with your stupid, fluffy tail, you wouldn't be bored!", he outburst. "Whoa. Did I make you angry?", I ask. I know he seems like he is angry at me, but thinking back to when I first saw him this morning, I remember he seemed tired and worn out. "No. No it isn't you. Sorry. I just got no sleep today", he says.

"Aw. What's wrong? Why'd you get no sleep last night?" I rub my face and sides from his shoulder to his hip, and around again. Just like a cat when they want to be pet more. Only difference is that I want to _know_ more.

"What are you doing?" he asks with a smile in his voice.

"I don't know. You were angry so I felt sorry for you. And this sort of flashed in my mind when i didn't know how to make a werecat happy. You all are very strange".

"You mean we. We all are very strange ",Liam corrects.

"Yes, that's what I meant". I let myself fall to the ground and lay there, too comfortable to move. "We have to go in a while", he says, lying on a huge, flat stone next to me. "Ugh. I don't want to go", I complain. I must be very annoying today.

"You have to. Or else the we would no longer support you. The Pride would drive you out. You have to do your share of work around here".  
"Gee, thanks for the encouraging word". I stand up and start walking the way Kelly and Raven went. "What are you doing?", Liam asks. "I wana learn to hunt. It sounds awesome", I say. "Okay, have fun. Watch out for Hunters", he calls behind me.

I start jogging -_can a snow leopard jog?-_ and I soon they come into view. Kelly is in her serval form, and Raven is in her ocelot form. Raven is crouching on the ground, in a crawl. Im about to call out to them but I see a young, small moose grazing on some grass a few dozen feet in front of Raven. _She is stalking it!,_ I think excitedly. Kelly is sitting nearby with a rabbit and a squirrel at her feet. No one here ever seems to stay in human form for long. Even I am getting used to being a big cat all the time. I slowly and quietly walk over to Kelly; she sees me and smiles welcomly. I look at the ground next to her, asking if I can sit. She nods her head. I settle on the ground and watch Raven as she advances on the moose. She creeps up a couple more feet an then pounces on it. She is quite small, but with a fast and expert bite to the neck artery, the moose goes down.

"That was awesome!", I complement Raven as she drags the moose over.

"Thank you. I have had a lot of time to practice", she says. I cock my head to the side, questioningly.

"She's been one since she was a seven years old", Kelly explains.

"Ahh ",I understand. Then that means it will take forever for me to learn to hunt properly.

"Actually, im really glad your here. We weren't planning on hunting big game but when I saw this moose, well I couldn't just let it get away. We would of brought more people with us because, if you haven't noticed, we are both really small cats", Raven says.

"I bet I could carry this", I say, and pick up the moose. Yep, I can carry it. It still is heavy though.  
I drop it and ask ,"Take it to where?"

"To the cave. Its not far from here. Half a mile. Don't worry. We'll help you carry it", Kelly says.

"Okay", I say, and start dragging the moose to the cave with Raven and Kelly.

When we get there, we set the moose a little ways in front of the cave. Zoë and Zack both rush over and ask for some meat. Others come out of the trees and cave and ask for some too. "Of course, of course. Everyone can have some. That's why we brought it", Raven tells them all. I ignore the meat, not yet committed enough to eat raw animals.

I notice that there aren't that many werecats here. They must be out on their scouting things. I look around for Liam. He's not here. "Where's Liam", I ask the lynx, Bryan. He has blood all over his muzzle.

"Uh, I think he went looking for you a while ago", Bryan offers. "Thank you", I say, and start walking back the way i came. "Wait. Star, where are you going?", asks Raven, trotting up beside me. "To find Liam", I say. "Want some help?", she asks. "Wouldn't hurt". She nods her head, practically running to keep up with my long stride. I slow down for her. Gosh, she is so much smaller than me.  
"Are you guys about to go scouting?", she asks.

"Yeah. Im sort of excited".

"You should be. All us girls want to be his scouting partner".

"Why?", I ask, making Raven's eyes widen.

"Are you kidding? Have you SEEN him? He's gorgeous! Your so lucky", Raven says with envy.

"I haven't really noticed it. He is usually shifted in his leopard form".

"Shifted or not, he is so hot. We have met alot of other werecats that aren't in our Pride. They are either from a different Pride, or loners. But so far, and im saying this from experience, Liam is the hottest leopard you will ever meet", she promises.

"Uh-huh. Well he is just a friend. I don't even know if he conceders me as a friend or just a 'partner'. I hope a friend".

"You'd be lucky. He doesn't seem to really like any of us but the twins. I mean he talks to us, but he doesn't talk about anything personal or such".

"Oh. Well he doesn't really tell me much either. Just that his parents died in a car crash, his last name is Casher, and that he had an older brother that left him when their parents died", I say, trying to make her happier.

"See? I didn't know any of that", she grumbles.

"Im sorry. Do you want me to tell him that-",I was cut off by a loud roar.

"Run! There's Hunters! Warn the others!", Liam yells, running towards us. Raven starts sprinting back to the cave panic and look around for a high tree to climb. I run over to the highest i see and start hurling myself up the branches. I start hearing dogs and people talking. I quickly climb the last few remaining limbs that will hold my weight, and sit as still as I can. The Hunters start running by.

There's got to be at least 25 of them. I even see the boy from yesterday. _He goes to my school!_ They all pass me and I let out a sigh of relief. When they get out of sight, I jump out the tree and start going to the cave in an arc, steering clear of the Hunters.


	5. Chapter 5

**Enjoy,my peoples.i work hard on my stories just for you!**

I race myself to the cave, hoping that everyone is gone by now. I pass the crystal stream that me and Liam swam in earlier, and know that I'm close. I run into the clearing with the cave and see no one. I smile with relief and turn to walk away when I hear a little mewing sound that iv only heard baby kittens make.

I look where the sound came from and see Zack lying in a ditch. "Zack! What are you doing here? Why didn't you go with everybody?", I ask worriedly. "I fell in this ditch and twisted my leg. It really hurts", he cries. I can see the pain on his face, his tail twitching. "Okay...um, I'm going to pick you up and carry you to the others. Can you shift back?" He shakes his head. "We cant shift while we are in pain. It distracts us. We can't concentrate", he explains. "Ahh ",I had forgotten about that. I shift back and scoop him up in my arms, trying not to jostle his hurt ankle. For a cheetah, he sure does weigh alot.

I start running to god know where. I just know its the opposite way of the Hunters. I reach a road and start walking down it, hoping to find someone to help. But who the heck would help a cheetah? And what would my excuse be? 'Oh, i found him on the side of the road. Yeah, sorry his ankle is twisted up bad. He was running away from some blood thirty hounds and crazy Hunters'. No, I can't get a human to help. I have to find the Pride.

"Zack, which way was the Pride headed when you fell?", I asks him gently. "They...they were going to... Oliver was taking us to his dad's old warehouse. Its big enough to hold us all", he whispers. Looking about to faint. "And where is that? Where exactly? ",I urge him. "It's ...uh... I think its next to the...mall ", he says, and passes out. I continue trudging down the road, sighing heavily.  
I keep my guard up, listening for talking, sniffing for smells. Nothing. This is both bad and good cause it means no Hunters near, but it also means no Pride near too.

I keep walking...and walking...and walking. With every step, Zack getting heavier in my arms. Its gotten dark already. Something shiny catches my eye in the forest. I figure its just a creek or something but when i look at it closer, I see a car.

Liam's car to be exact! Moonlight is reflecting off it's hood. I quickly run/walk over to the car and set Zack down next to it. I run my hand in the wheel rim and find the key. _SUCCESS!_ I unlock the driver's door and start the engine. Grinning as I hear the radio come on.

I unlock the passenger door and put Zack on the floor, under the dashboard. Cant have any cops seeing me giving a cheetah a detour around town, can I? I look in the back and find a orange Hollister hoody and put it under Zack's head, as a pillow. I sit back in my seat and take a deep breath. I could get in ALOT of trouble if i got caught. I only have my permit, no license. And no adult. So I sit up strait, try to look as much older as I can, and drive the car onto the road. This is so much better than walking. No heavy weight, no wariness in my legs, and we are making so much progress.

In no time im back in town. The loud noise of people is already giving me a headache. The smell of pollution in the air is already stinging my nose. The bright car lights are already making me dizzy. But it still, feels like home.

After about 20 minutes, I find the warehouse. I park the car and pick up Zack off the floor. He has shifted back into human form. 'Thank god', I think. There's too many people around here, and if they spotted a cheetah, there would be problems. I walk over to the warehouse and knock on a small door.

"Who is it?", I hear Misty ask. "Its Star. I found Zack. He is hurt", I say briefly.

The door opens. Misty is standing there, beckoning me to come in. Zoë comes running over, her long brown hair streaming behind her. "Where's Zack? Is he okay?", she asks. I set Zack on the ground, glad that I brought the orange hoody with me to use as a pillow once more.

"Oh gosh Im glad he's okay", Zoë says to no one in particular. "What happened?", a bunch of voices ask at once. "Zack said that he was running with you guys and he fell in a ditch and twisted up his ankle. It looks bad. He hid in a corner so that if the Hunters passed, they wouldn't see him. I found him and he told me you all were here".

"Im sorry. I didn't realize that he was missing until we were already half way here. We couldn't go back. The Hunters surely were there already. I figured he made it. How'd you get here? ",Vrent asks. "I found Liam's car...",I say, blushing when I see Liam. "Ahh. Well the important thing is that you are here now. Safe and sound ",Vrent says. "Would you like some dinner? We bought sandwich fixings", Misty asks. "Uh, no. I have to go see my mother. She's probably freaking out not knowing where i am", I say. Misty looks surprised but nods her head. I hear rain pouring outside. Just my luck. I leave the warehouse and am about to shift when I see Liam coming outside. I wipe the raindrops from my eyes and face. "What do you want?", I ask him.

"Let me give you a ride home. Its raining for Pete's sake", he says. Who's Pete? "Im just fine, thank you", I say a little too prissy. I don't need any more of his help. He left me stranded in the freaking woods while Hunters were coming. But the more I think of it, the more i realize it wasn't his fault. He might of though I followed. Or that I went a separate way.  
"You'll catch a cold", he suggests. I snort.  
"In the middle of April? I don't think so". I want to hear him beg before i got back in that car with him.  
"Oh come ON Star! Quit being a bitch. Please?", he says. I smile and walk over to his car. He unlocks our doors and I get in. Liam turns on the heater and I savor the warmth. I shake the water from my hair. "Watch it!", Liam complains. "Sorry", I apologize.

When we get to my house, my mom runs out the front door. I get out of the car and walk over to her. "Where have you been ,Starlet?", she asks. She looks back at the car and waves and looks back at me, waiting for an answer. Then her eyes go wide. She looks back at Liam and asks me ,"Who's that?" "A friend", I say. "A boyfr-", my mom starts to ask but I say ,"No! No just a friend Mom. Clove's brother couldn't drive me so I asked my other friend to take me home. He wasn't busy", I explain, watching Liam pull out of the driveway and leave.

"Okay well get inside and dry yourself up. Your soaked!", she exclaims. "Yeah. I see", I mutter sarcastically.

I walk inside with my mom and get in the shower. 'Ahh. That's the stuff', I think. I scrub away the dirt on my body and I wash my hair. I nearly choke looking at all the filth I see going down the drain. My arms don't have any more scratches or tears on them. Just faint, white lines.

I get out of the shower and put on my comfy Mickey Mouse pajamas. I open a window, listening to the rain pattering the leaves on trees. I sit down on my bed and grab my laptop. I check my Facebook for notifications. I have seven. I look at them and when im finished I shut my laptop loudly. I look at my iPhone. Two texts from Clove, three calls from my mom, and one text from a boy named Justin. 'Ick', I think. Justin has had a HUGE crush on me since 5th grade. I press DELETE.

I sigh and just sit on my bed, thinking over the day. I didn't do much. Not much at all. Slept, swam, learned, carried, drove, showered...doesn't fill a girls day, you know? I guess I didn't shut my door all the way because it slowly opens and my cat Cali walks in. She's a calico, hence her name. She jumps on my bed and starts purring, though I haven't even petted her yet. I scratch her behind the ears and she closes her eyes to slits.

"What ya been doing girl? Haven't messed with none of my stuff have you? No of course you haven't, cause your an angel like that", I say to her. Yes, I talk to my cat. No, im not crazy. We seem to share a deeper connection now that im a werecat and all. I look around my room, glad to see all my belongings surrounding me. My pure white carpet, my pink walls with my Twilight, Hunger Games, Rihanna, Nicki Minaj, Chris Brown, Owl City, Micky Mouse, and Hello Kitty posters all over them. My desk, my TV, my dresser, my book shelf, my window with pink curtains, my pile of colorful stuffed animals and pillows. I have no idea why I would give all this up just for some cats. I set a pillow right next to me. It has the words CALI'S AWEOME PILLOW sewn on it. Custom made, just for my kitty. She gracefully leaps to the pillow and starts rolling all over it.(Yeah...I might of put a pinch of catnip in the stuffing when it was being made...)  
I pull my blanket up to my chest and lay down. "Goodnight, Cali ",I whisper, and turn off the light.

The sun shines in through a gap in my pink curtains. Wind blows through the open window. Birds chirp at the rising sun. Something fluffy is next to my me. Sunlight hits my face, causing me to see red behind my eyelids. "Mrow", Cali meows. I groan, wanting to sleep more, and open my eyes. "Star. Wake up for school. Your going to miss the bus", my mom calls from downstairs.

I sit up in bed. My alarm clock says 6:30. _'Oh crap'_. I jump out of bed and get dressed quickly. My selection today: Gray tank top with leather half jacket, skinny jeans, and black sparkly designer flip-flops. Oh, Im sorry. Did i forget to mention my mom is vice president of the AMC Theaters in the mall? Must of slipped my mind. Yeah, so we're practically rich. We call it 'wealthily living the life'.

I brush my teeth, straiten my hair, and pack all my school stuff into my green and blue checkered bag. I fling open my door and gracefully run down the stairs. Before I was a werecat, I used to trip down those stairs almost every morning. No more tripy-trip now. "Good morning, baby. Did you sleep well? Im pretty sure i heard you snoring. Or maybe that was Cali. You two could be sisters; you spend so much time together lately", my mom says. Yeah, I know. She talks alot.

"Yeah. Her boyfriend broke up with her", I laugh. My mom hands me a plate of pancakes and I realize im starving. I haven't eaten anything for a day. I get a spoon from the silverware drawer, cut the pancakes into small squares, and shovel them in my mouth. "Whoa slow down there, girly ",my mom teases. I tap my watch, telling her that I don't wana miss the bus.

When im done eating breakfast, I hurry out the front door and walk the sidewalk to the bus stop. I see Clove walking too and I wave at her. She is a small girl. Smaller than me, even. She has sandy-brown and strait hair, a thin waist, and a flawless, height cheekbone face. She could be a freaking super model. She lives with her mom, dad, and two sisters, Macy and Rosy. We met in the 3rd grade, and she's stuck by my side ever since. The loyalist friend anyone could ever have.

Wait, Im telling everything about the people around me and I haven't told you anything about me. Well my name is Starlet Aro, but i prefer to be called Star. I have elbow-length dark brown, almost black, wavy hair, eyes the color of storm clouds, freckles sprinkled across my cheeks and nose, and pale, air skin. If you saw me ,you'd probably think im in the 8th grade because of my height_,_ but actually im in the 11th grade. Im only 5 1/2 feet tall. That's pretty sad for my age. Anyways, Clove walks over to me and puts her hand on my shoulder.

"You are in trouble young lady. You didn't text me _AT ALL_ this weekend! What do you have to say for yourself?", she asks sarcastically. "Oh I am so, deeply sorry. I hadn't seen the necessarily of texting my dearest friend for a WHOLE weekend. What is my punishment?", I play along. Clove breaks the game and laughs. I do too. I love how i can be myself around my friend. "So where were you this weekend? Did you go to a slumber party without me?", she asks sounding genuinely hurt. "No, I wouldn't last through a party without you there", I assure her.

"Okay, good. But where?", she urges. "I was um...just with a friend", I mumble. She gasp and whispers," Were you with a boy? What's his name? Does he go to our school?" Im both shocked and hurt by her surprise. "Yes, I was with a boy, his name is Liam, and no, he doesn't go to Wilsonville High", I say. "Details!", Clove says ,jumping up and down. "Brown hair, brown eyes, abbs ,possible Egyptian", I say. "Abbs? I like this guy already", she says.  
The bus pulls to our stop and we get in. We go to the very back where a seat is empty. I start explaining lies to Clove, hoping to get her off my case, but she come back with more questions. Im going to tell her the truth later anyways.

When we get to school, I run off the bus and get some water from a soda vendor. I open it and let cool, spring water rush down my throat. Clove comes skipping up beside me. "What'd you need water for, Star? ",she asks.

I look in her eyes, very bored at the minute. I see pure curiosity and kindness in her startling blue eyes. I see why every guy loves her. She is the best friend anyone could hope for. But poor Clove, she has been in ALOT of bad relationships. They always take advantage of her, she it too nice and down to earth that she doesn't see it until she gets mentally or physically hurt. I am always trying to help her, but she has false pride.

"My throat hurts from talking so much", I smile. "Oh, sorry. Well here comes the football team. Go Wildcats!", she says, excitedly waving to the passing football players. (Yeah, I know the irony of it all. 'Wildcats' is our school. We are the Wilsonville Wildcats. But seriously, if you look up 'Wilsonville Wildcats Oregon', you'll know im not lying. "Woo. Go Wildcats", I say meekly. "C'mon. Show some spirit for our cats!", she says. Im about to scream 'Go Cats!' to make her happy, but someone catches my eye.  
"Oh...my...god...", I'm staring into they eyes of the young Hunter named Christophr.

**Sorry,but i love cliffhangers. they are wat keep the people reading. until tomorrow ;)**


	6. Chapter 6

"Hey, girls ",Christophr says casually, walking over to us. "Hi Christophr! What do you need? ",Clove asks him.

This monster goes to my school! How can i be safe now? Maybe Liam is right. Maybe it is safer away from civilization. "I just need to talk to Star alone, please ",he says gently to Clove. "Oh okay. See you in class ",she says to me ,wide eyed. I stare after her as she walks away.

"What do you want, Hunter? ",I ask Christopher harshly. He looks taken aback by my tone.

"You need to know that I wont hurt you. Not here. Not at school. As long as you don't hurt me first", he says.

"Because there would be witnesses!", I snarl at him.

"That, and my father doesn't want me to kill you", he says coolly.

"Why the hell are you telling me this?"

"Because I don't want you to attack me, duh. We are at SCHOOL. I cant carry weapons around here. Though, I do anyways ",he boasts.

"Oh, well aren't you a bad boy", I say sarcastically. "Stay away from me and my friend".

I walk away smoothly, hoping he sees the strength in my stride.  
I go to my classes for the rest of the day, all the while watching out for Christophr. We have one class together: P.E. I'm not sure why, but it paranoids me that he can see everything that i excel in.

"Clove, can you come to my house for a while?", I ask her. She looks at her phone and nods. "Yeparooni ",she says. We both get off the bus at my stop and cut across the grass to the front door. I have to ring our doorbell because my mom keeps the door locked 24/7. Me and Clove listen as the doorbell plays _'Someone is at the door'_ in a singsong female voice. That's right, I got a cool doorbell. The door opens and my mom appears.

"Hey, girls. Did you have a good day at school? ",she asks kindly. "Its a Monday, what do you expect?", Clove asks.

We stroll inside and set our stuff on the kitchen island. My mom is wearing a lime shirt and kakis splattered with royal blue paint. Her hair is up in a bun. "Whoa, mom, what's with the paint?", I ask. She looks down at herself and shrugs. "Oh im painting the whole house new colors. The blue is for the living room. What color do you want your room to be, Star? ",she asks. I light up with excitement. "Could i have purple with blue polka-dots this time?", I ask. "Sure, baby ",she says with gentleness. No one is more gentle than my mom.

When I think about it, my three favorite people in the whole word are my mom, Clove, and Cali.

"I'm going to the store in a few minutes for more paint, do either of you girls need anything while I'm out?", my mom asks. We shake our heads no. My mom I just so generous. Always using her time to make things more beautiful, to make people happy, or to do good. Never a minute wasted. Even when she is sleeping,thats doing good. Because in the morning she has energy to keep up. When she isnt at work and has nothing to do, she sometimes volunteers for picking up trash in the woods or in lakes. And when she is done, she paints a picture of the landscape she cleaned.

Clove and I go up the stairs and in my room. Clove is usually at my house because her parents fight allot. They always start a divorce then stop it, like they don't know what to do right. I make sure I shut my door completely and sit on my bed. "Do we nave homework in Math today?", Clove asks. "Clove, I have to tell you something", I announce. "Oh no. We had homework in Math? Could I use your book? I left mine at school", she says sadly. "No, we don't have homework. But remember this morning on the bus when I was telling you that I was at my cousin's house and I met Liam there? I was lying", I admit. Clove doesn't look surprised.

"So where were you?", she asks.

"I was in the woods...with 15 other people. Its sort of like camping but...but they never leave. And I have to tell you what I am. I'm a werecat ",I say almost confess. Clove looks around the room.

"Are you doing a play?", she asks.

"No, Clove. I'm not doing a play. I'm a werecat. I can change my shape into a snow leopard".

"Your joking right? Am i supposed to ask 'Where are the cameras'?"

"There are no cameras. This is not a joke. I'm a werecat. Watch, and you will believe me", I say. I shift into my snow leopard form and sit on the ground, expecting Clove to scream or faint. But she just stands there. I start to worry that she had a stroke or something, but she walk over to me and touches my nose.

"I knew there was something up with you, lately. I wanted to ask you but i knew you wouldn't . When did this happen?", she asks. Now it was my turned to be shocked. She wasn't scared or surprised? Even I was scared of myself in the beginning!

"It uh... happened when you, my mom, and me went camping. Its weird cause that's where most scary things happen in movies. In the woods, at night, while camping".

"Yeah. So you can change shape? How is that possible? And aren't your clothes supposed to be ripped and on the floor. Where did they go?", she asks. "I don't know. I barley know anything right now. Sorry", I apologize. I start explaining to her what I can do and everything about me.

"So...you can see really good, hear really far, and smell things well? That's awesome!", she exclaims. I smile at her enthusiasm. I shift back into human form and sit on my bed. "Yeah, well we have to hide those things. My eyes look like a cat's", I take my contacts out and show her. "Whoa! That's so cool. They look like footballs!", she gets close to my face to see them better. "My teeth are sharper and longer and my ears are pointed", I show her my canines and ears as well. She examines them closely.

"I just don't see how its possible! Your clothes stayed on you. On your human form. Its like you have two different bodies! That's not possible. Not logical. No one would ever guess this is how you change-I mean shift. Everyone thinks of werewolves as changing the way they look. Not their bodies. Its so strange", she thinks aloud. She reasons too much. Why cant she just accept that we will never know the truth? Because she's stubborn like that. She normally isn't like this. She normally just has fun and jokes around. But when something scientific pops into her world, she cant resist. She likes stuff like that. Aliens, Bigfoot, the Loch Ness monster. She eats that stuff up.

"Could you shift back into your kitty form again, please? ",she asks. I shift forms and lay on my bed. Clove starts checking every part of my body. Tail, ears, eyes, paws, legs, stomach, head, nose, back. Everything.

"What are you looking for?", I ask her.  
"For some human characteristics. You don't have any on this body. I think your feline side is stronger than your human side".

I sigh in exasperation. "Ya think? I can climb a four story tree in a heartbeat. I don't even think regular snow leopards can do that!"  
"I know. Its like...its like your DNA or genes are whacked up. Tampered with. The bite from that tiger gave you some sort of venom that changed you. I'm so confused".

"Are you kidding me? I have to live with this for the rest of my life! Im so stressed out right now", I complain uneasily.  
"I think we should have a girls' night out", Clove suggests. I think about it for a second. It could be fun.  
"Where?", I ask.

"We could go to the dance club, Nightlife. They accept people under 21. Its supposed to be really fun. My brother went there one time with his girlfriend. They had an awesome time", she says.  
"How much does it cost?"  
"Just thirty five dollars. You want to go?"  
"Lets", I say with a sly smile. I jump off my bed and walk over to my door. "Could you open this for me?", I tap my paw on the door. My mom is still at the store, thank god. "Want to see something cool?", I ask devily. Clove shrugs. I go down the hallway to the first step of the stairs. I jump ALL the way down to the floor without touching a single step.

"Whoa! That's so cool", Clove says. "Thank you. Do you want to pick some clothes from my closet to wear to Nightlife?", I ask, walking back up the stairs. "Yeah. I cant go back home and get some". I shift back and walk into my closet. "Come pick what you want to wear", I tell Clove. She walks in and she gasps. Okay, I'm a little particular about clothes. I have all sorts of dresses, jeans, shorts, shirts, jackets, hoodies , shoes. Mostly all from Hollister, Aeropostale , and Abercrombie. I only let Clove wear my clothes on special occasions. And she has see my closet plenty of times. She always gasps when she comes in my closet though. I just have so many outfits.

"Pick whatever you want. Tonight is for fun. Tell you what, whatever you pick, you can keep. I'm in a generous mood", I murmur. "Really? Thank you! I mean this shirt only must cost like forty dollars!", Clove says, holding up a plain, orange Hollister shirt. I quickly choose a strapless black tank top with blue swirls on it, plain black converses, and black booty-shorts, as Clove calls them. Clove picks a flowy white shirt with gray flowers blossoming all around the bottom, white skinny jeans, and white high heels. "Look at us, we look like good and evil", Clove says. "Maybe we are", I say mysteriously.

"Ill call a cab", I dial the number and call the Cab Company (the CC). Within minutes the cab arrives and picks us up.  
"I hope this place is worth it", I grumble. Im using up half my allowance on this club. "Oh it is. I promise", Clove says, staring out the cab window.

_**BING**_. I got a text. From...Liam. 'Where are you?', he texts. When the hell did i give that boy my phone number? And when did he give me his? 'How did you get my number? And why are you a contact?', I text him. _**BING**_. 'While you were sleeping your phone fell out of your pocket so I exchanged numbers real quick. Where are you?', he asks again.  
'About to go to a club called Nightlife with my friend. Why do you care?'.  
'Your supposed to be my partner, remember? I got in trouble because of you', he accuses.  
'Not my fault. I have a life to live. You could too. This is a girls' night out so don't text me for the rest of the night', I end the conversation.

"Who was that?", Clove questions. "No one", I murmur.

The cab parks on the side of the road in front of Nightlife. The building is painted black with an eerie glow to it. The sign above the open door was purple and red. "Are you sure this is your stop?", the cab driver asks. "Yeah, we're sure", I say, handing him the fair money. He gives me my change and we jump out the car. I take a deep breath, already smelling the liquor. "Got your money?", I ask Clove. "Yeppers ",she yelp excitedly.

I am excited too. I could feel it buzzing inside me. Like adrenaline. We strut up to the tall bald guy at the entrance. He is exactly the kind of person you want as a guard or gatekeeper or whatever. We give him our money and walk in. The place is really dark. Circular green, red, and yellow lights flash from the high ceiling and walls. A disco ball tosses colors everywhere. A bar is in a corner selling shots, beer, and liquor. A bunch of mini restaurants next to it. And a dance floor filling the rest of the gigantic room. Music is blaring from speakers all around.

"My kind of place", I whisper to Clove. She nods her head. We both rush over to the dance floor and start dancing like drugged lunatics.

After a while we both grab guys and start dancing with them. That's the glory of clubs. You can dance with whoever the hell you want to, and not get slapped by the guy's girlfriend. My guy was cute, tall, and a REALLY good dancer.

"Want to switch?", Clove asks. I shake my head. I see the disappointment on her face and walk over to her. I shoo her guy away and take her to one of the mini restaurants. "What do you want to get?", I ask her. She looks at the menu. We are at some kind of Japanese restaurant. They have everything from chicken wings to lollipops. "Ill have a caesar salad without croutons and a medium Sprite, please ",she tells the man at the cash register. "What bout you?", she asks me. "I'll take french-fries and a vanilla shake", I forget to say please and shrug.

I catch Clove staring at me. "What?", I ask her. "Fries and a milkshake? Are you kidding me? We are like opposites tonight!", she says. We are. "You can go dance. Ill wait for the food", I say. She smiles a thank you and skips away. No sooner that she goes out of sight does the guy I was dancing with come in sight.

"Hey ,sweet thing ",he says.

"Hi ",I say cautiously. "Can I buy you a drink?", he asks.

"No, me and my friend already ordered", I mumble.

"Well you want to go somewhere? I know this closet that's empty. Pretty dark too", he offers.

"No thank you", I say sweetly, hoping he will take it as sarcasm and back off.

"Awe. Come on. We could have some fun", he says in a seductive tone. I shake my head. Why was our order taking so long? "Yeah ,I know you want to come. Please? Get a little freaky".

Really? 'Get a little freaky'? Man this guy is a creep. "Give me a kiss. Just one", he grabs my hips and pulls me close.

"No. Stop", I argue. I try to squirm away from him but his grip is tight.

"Or we could do more than kiss", he gets close to my face. His breath smells of alcohol.

"Get. Away. From. Me", I warn him. He pulls me even closer, grinding himself against me.

"Eww! ", i shriek. I stomp on his foot and he loosens his grip enough for me to wrench free. I turn to go to Clove but run strait into someone.

"Oh my gosh. I'm so sorry. I didn't me-",I realize who it is I ran into. "Oh.. Liam. Hi ",I falsely laugh. "Come on", he grabs my wrist and pulls me through the crowd of dancing people. "I have to get Clove!", I say.

"I already did. See, I though ahead of time. Unlike you who comes tromping into a night club with freaks who want nothing but a little free action", he says. "Excuse me? I had that perfectly under control. I could of gotten out of there by myself. Actually DID get out of there by myself. I just ran into you", I say proudly.

"Oh really? He would of grabbed you and taken you to that creepy closet he was talking about without anyone to witness it. And even if they did, nine times out of ten they wouldn't help you. You wouldn't be able to shift and fight back in front of all though people, either ",he says.

"So what", I grumble. He takes me to his car and sits me and the back seat with Clove.


	7. Chapter 7

"I cant believe you got in the car with him! You don't even know him", I scream furiously at her, making her flinch. Did I really scare her so much?

"He said he knew you", she says in a small voice. "If an old man said he knew the president, would you get in the car with him?" I screech. "No...",she whispers. She suddenly becomes very interested in her shoes, not taking her eyes off them, shiny with tears.

"Then why would you-",I start to say, but Liam cut me off rudely.

"She asked me if I was a W.C. and I'm sure she meant werecat and not Wrestle Champion so I said yeah. I said my name was Liam and she started asking allot of questions. Speaking of which, why did you tell her?", he asks coolly. I glare at him.

"She's my best friend. What was I supposed to do? I couldn't lie to her! I did in the beginning but I cant keep it up", I confess. It's the strait out truth. I'm full of confessions tonight. "Okay. I get it. But you cant let Vrent know about this. I don't know what he would do", Liam warns. "Where are you taking us?", I sigh. Liam smiles with a thoughtful look in his eyes.

"Where?", I ask more threatenfuly. "Clove is going to a hotel and your going to go scouting with me", he says thoughtfully. "No! This was OUR girls night out. And you just snatched us from a club!", I say. "Don't yell! I have excellent hearing too. Your going to make me deaf. And you are going to help me. You own me this. For finding you on the side of the road, for giving you water, for taking you to the Pride, for warning you about the Hunters, and for getting you away from that guy", Liam says. Oh _HELL_ no. He did _NOT_ just play that card on me. No matter what, I wont go scouting with him. Not tonight. "Fine", I agree. Hey, what can I say? I respect owes.  
Liam drives us to a hotel for Clove. We get her a room and he gives her the money for her to pay the hotel. Afterwards, Liam drives me and him to the place where we are supposed to be scouting.

"Are we watching out for Hunters and werewolves, or are we making sure Hunters don't mess with a younger werecat? ",I ask Liam as he parks his car in a ditch. "We're watching a kid. She's the only kid we ever have to watch. Your the newest member to the Pride since I joined. This girl is almost 13,so we'll only have to keep watching her for a little while longer", he explains.

I nod my head in understanding. We get out of the car. I watch as Liam puts the key back in the wheel. "Come on", he says.

We walk through the forest pretty much all the way to the other side, and stop. A road is in front of us, a house on either side. We are in a neighborhood. The kind where every single home looks the same inside and out. With no trees, shrubs, or ponds. Just perfect little flower beds. I like to call them Cookie-Cutter houses. Don't ask me why we went through the woods when there is a freaking road right in front of us. Liam is the leader of our little partnership, and i shall follow. We walk to a large mulberry tree with really thick limbs, climb to the first branch, and sit side-by-side each other.

"So what exactly are we supposed to do?", I ask him after a couple of boring minutes. "Watch the house. Duh ",he says sarcastically.

"Oh...well you wana play a game? Its called the Alphabet Game", I ask him. He looks about to refuse but changes his mind. "What a stupid name. But fine. How do you play?", he asks with no interest. "We just have to have a conversation and every first word's first letter has to be in alphabetical order. And whoever messes up first,losses. You go first",i say cheerily.

"Apples are good", he says blandly.  
"Bananas are better".  
"Can we start a different subject that's not boring?"  
"Defiantly".  
"Eventually, will you leave the Pride?", he asks.  
"For right now, no".  
"Good, I like having company".  
"How come you didn't ever partner with anyone else?".  
"I didn't want to have to share the quiet time".  
I cant think of anything else to say so i decide to go random.  
"Jokers are weird". Liam looks at me surprised but catches on.  
"Kangaroos jump high".  
"Liam likes this game?"  
"Maybe".  
"Now I don't feel like I'm forcing you to play anymore". Before, I felt like he didn't want to play.  
"Okay, well this tree is hurting my butt". I giggle at his joke.  
"Please don't complain".  
"Quit telling me what to do".  
"Really, scouting isn't fun".  
"You get used to it", he slips.

"I win", I say with a smug smile. "What? Oh, dang it", he says. I liked playing that game with him. Even though it lasted like five minutes.

"You know you still have that makeup and nice clothes on. And your sitting in a _TREE_", Liam teases. I look down at myself. I'm still wearing my black strapless shirt, shorts, and converses. "So?", I ask indignantly. "No reason. You look pretty though", he says. Im glad he cant see me blush scarlet in the dark. Well…actually he can. _Damn_.

"Thank you", I whisper, embarrassed. _Whoa. Was Liam this close before?_ I wonder. And I notice him getting closer to my face... Then **WHAM**! Somehow mine and Liam's lips are together.

I pull back and look at him, surprised and somewhat worried. I see rejection in his eyes; he thinks I don't want to kiss him. Oh, how wrong he is. I feel guilty. I close my eyes and kiss him, slow and steady. Like a heartbeat. His lips are warm and soft. Not what you would expect of a boy that lives in a cave.

My hands tangle in his dark hair. He kisses me back, but not with the same gentleness that I'm using. He seems sort of urgent, demanding. I can say that I enjoy this. Us moving our lips together, only parting them for milliseconds. He starts to kiss me quicker, causing me to take short, ragged breaths. I wrap my arms around Liam's neck; he puts his hands on my waist,gently pulling me closer. There's not an inch of air between us. I wish I know why all of a sudden he decided to kiss me. But I'm surely not holding back. Why should I? He's hot, nice, sweet, funny. And I actually _have_ started getting feelings for him. So why not?

He slides his tongue over my bottom lip. I let him deepen our kisses. Both mine and his tongue battle for dominance. I laugh a little, grossed out by our mixed drool.

"What?", Liam murmurs against my lips, smiling. "There's drool on your chin", I giggle. He quickly brushes it away. Amazing that we can have a conversation and kiss at the same time. I start to straddle his waist, trying to get a better angle, but something is thrown on me.

My eyes fly open to see an itchy, black net thrown over me and Liam. He tries to throw it off of us, but something is holding it down. I glance at the ground and see about ten people handling the net we are in. They are holding the ends of it. A truck's lights are focused on them, giving them and eerie look. They tug on it roughly and we come tumbling to the ground.

_Ouch_.

I twist and squirm to get free but hands hold me down.

"Stop! Please. Why are you doing this?", I scream. These people defiantly aren't Hunters, but what would they want with two kids making out in a freaking tree? I only have one idea of what they would want. The people pick me up and throw my into a white van. I thought most kidnappers had black vans, right? I see Liam being in thrown next to me. "What's going on?" I ask him.

He looks panicky. "I don't know. Maybe they are Hunters, maybe they are just random people", he says. "Random people who kidnap?" I squeak. Smoke starts to blur my vision. I cough and cover my mouth, but id does no use. It smells sickly sweet. Like sweet and sour sauce. A strange comparison. I start getting drowsy, and I realize what the smoke is. Sleeping gas. Or something related it , because sleeping gas doesn't have a color to it. "Wha...?" Liam falls asleep, with me right after him.

"Wake up. Come on. Wake up!", a man yells in my strong ears. _Damn him. He probably broke my eardrum._ I slowly open my eyes groggily. Everything looks blurry for a sec but then everything clears. I'm laying on a cold, metal tabletop. The kind you see in a doctor's office.

_A doctor's office?_

Bright light cause me to squint. I wish the lights are off. There is bleeping and a low vibration in the chill air. I get goosebumps. Liam is awake on a steel table next to me, too. He frowns at me. I struggle to sit up, but I something is stopping me. I look at my arms. Black, velcro straps restrain me. Same with my legs and torso. Two men are standing over me, staring at me with beady anxious eyes, clipboards in their hands.

Then it all comes back to me. The kissing, the net, the gas... I start pulling on the straps keeping me down. I hear the rapid beeping of my heartbeat on a machine. "Let me go!", I scream. I kick my feet and bang my head against the table, seeing stars. "Now don't do that. That's bad", one of the men command. "Don't talk to me like I'm a child!", I snap at him.

The man's face lights up in fury. Liam is shaking his head. Before I can decipher what he means, a stinging pain hits my right cheek. I chock on the air I was about to breath in. _The guy just slapped me! How dare he. Who does he think he is?_ "Where are we?", I ask meekly, tears stinging my hurt cheek. "Home", the other man says. This guy's a complete idiot. I decide to call them Thing 1 and Thing 2. I take a long look around the room. The walls, ceiling, and floor are pure white. There are no windows. Rectangular machines are stacked up neatly against the walls. "Its okay, Star. We'll get out of here", Liam whispers soothingly. I hear the beep of a machine slow down, my heartbeat slowing down. It amazes me that Liam has this much effect over me. After only, what, three days? Four?

What do these people want? They sort of look like doctors. Maybe we are in a hospital. I start wondering if me and Liam did more than just kiss up in that tree... But I don't remember doing anything more. And they wouldn't be treating us like this if that was the case. I doubt these guys are doctors. They have a menacing stare that could kill. No doctor I know is as mean as them either.

A door suddenly opens and a woman steps in. She's wearing an all black business suit, high heels, and her hair is up in a tight bun. She's has this cold, steel feeling to her. I almost laugh when fright crosses Thing 1 and Thing 2's faces.

"Where did you find these two?", the woman asks in a dry voice.

"We found them up in a tree. They were...how should i put this?", Thing 1 asks Thing 2. "Kissing passionately, Mrs. Grace ",he says mockingly.

"Oh, really? We have two lovers? How sweet ",Mrs. Grace sneers. "What can they do?"

They look down at their clipboards. "We have been following the male ever since we saw him change his shape into a big cat, four weeks ago. And we spotted him walking around the forest with the female. We figured she was human until we watched her change into a big cat too ",Thing 2 explains.

"The male is a spotted leopard, and the female is a snow leopard ",Thing 1 informs.

_Great. Just great._ I was being watched and I didn't even realize it. What does that say about me? That I ignore my surroundings, that's what it says.

"Shape shifters, you say? This is the girl that we created three weeks ago! And I remember this male now. We let them go, to see how they would adapt. My other Facility created these. We created others, but these two are the only ones you've seen? ",she asks. They nod their heads. "Then they have probably died. Get ready to erase their memories. And when you are done, place them in the glass rooms", orders Mrs. Grace. "Erase our memories? You cant do that! Its got to be illegal ",Liam yells.

"We have done it before, young man. Don't you think a tiger changed you into what you are now? Don't you think it was a tiger that bit you? Well it wasn't. We took your real memories and replaced them with that. The true thing that happened to you, is that we added feline DNA to your system",she sneers. "We changed you from the inside out. We even gave you extra strength, something that cats don't possess. Everything about you is advanced now. All of your senses, besides touch. But we gave you both different cat DNA and genes, so you are two different type of leopards. You two were the last ones we made, and the main ones. Leopard blood is the most successful. That's why the other cats we have created died. You two are special. After a year I was going to send out people to get you, but it doesn't matter if your a little early. Have fun not remembering where you came from".

She struts out of the room. I listen as the clicking of her shoes grow quieter and quieter.

Thing 1 and Thing 2 suddenly start pushing mine and Liam's tables out the door. The hallway looks exactly like a hospital. EVERYTHING is white. The ceiling has black speckles on each perfectly shaped square. I focus on one and watch it go by. I do it again, and again, and again.

Until we stop at a bright, neon red door that read **'CAUTION. DO NOT ALLOW UNSUPERVISED CHILDREN ENTER HERE. WILL RESULT IN MEMORY LOSS'**. I see someone coming and let out a breath that I didn't know I was holding. Then I see that he wasn't coming to stop Thing 1 and Thing 2. He was just walking by.

_ My memories will come back _I try to convince myself. But i know better.

They push us into the room and I look around. A huge, black machine stands alone against a wall. It looks sort of like a MRI. It is a huge rectangle with four openings. Four screens are right next to the openings.

"Lets put 'em in", Thing 2 says. Thing 1 and 2 easily slide our tables into two of the openings. The only thing I can see is black. But if i lift my head up as high as I can, I can see the light from outside the machine. I give up and rest my head back on the hard table. I'm never getting out of here. Me and Liam are going to be stuck here forever.

What do they want with us? Are they going to let us go again, but this time with _no_ memory. How much of mine will they take? So much that I wont even know how to talk or walk? I certainly hope that isn't so. That would be killing us. That would be just like leaving a baby outside for the night. I start when I hear the machine turn on. It roars, all the parts working. Lines of tiny, blue lights spot the circular wall around me. I struggle one last time, but I still feel weak from the gas.

Suddenly, a gut wrenching pain enters my head. I scream out loud, hurting my own ears. Not even a dinosaur could roar as loud as I am screaming now. I squeeze my eyes tight, tears streaming down my face like rain. I have never felt this kind of pain in my life. Not even when I broke my collar bone while canoeing in rapids with Clove and some other friends. No, this is far worse. It feels like someone is splitting my head in half from the inside with a chainsaw. Though the pain is more mental than physical, because I don't see or smell and blood. I hear Liam screaming in pain on the other side. I start crying. This pain is unbearable. Torture. Far worse than death.

Then...darkness overcomes me.


End file.
